# Replication data & code for "Local Newspaper Decline and Political Polarization -- Evidence from a Multiparty Setting"

Below, we provide additional information regarding the replication code and data. For additional questions, please contact Hanno Hilbig at hhilbig@ucdavis.edu. 

## Folder structure

The replication code relies on a structure where data files are located in a data/... folder -- this structure needs to be in place for the code to run. If data files are located elsewhere, the file paths in the code need to be adjusted accordingly. The working directory should be the directory that contains both the code/... and the data/... folders.

## Main results / consumption results

Please note that the main results for the electoral outcomes (figures 2/3/4) as well as for consumption behavior (figures 5/6 in the main body) are first generated by the following files:

- Results_Main.R
- Results_Consumption.R
- Results_Consumption_Dynamic.R

These files save these results as .rds files, which are then loaded in the .R files that produce the figures / tables that present these results. The .rds files are already included in the replication archive, i.e. the three files above do not need to be run again if this is not desired.

## Helper functions

Please note that some .R files use helper functions that are defined in the file "helper_functions.R". This file needs to be present in the replication directory for the code to run.

## GLES Individual-level data

The original raw data is available from Gesis at: https://search.gesis.org/research_data/ZA5300 
Citation: GLES (2019). Pre-election Cross Section (GLES 2009). GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA5300 Data file Version 5.0.2, https://doi.org/10.4232/1.13228.

## GLES Long-Term Media Agenda Analysis

The original raw data is available from Gesis at: https://search.gesis.org/research_data/ZA5323
Citation: GLES (2014). Long-Term Media Agenda Analysis (GLES). GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA5323 Data file Version 2.0.0, https://doi.org/10.4232/1.11866.


## SOEP v.35 (1984-2018) Individual-level Panel Data

The original raw data is available from DIW at: https://www.diw.de/en/diw_01.c.742256.en/edition/soep-core_v35__data_1984-2018.html
Citation: Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), data for years 1984-2018, version 35, SOEP, 2019, doi:10.5684/soep.v35.
Note that access to regional SOEP data is only possible onsite at the DIW Berlin. Information on regional data: https://www.diw.de/en/diw_01.c.683748.en/regional_data.html#c_diw_01.c.683753.de
Due to the data sharing restrictions of the DIW and its mandate of exhaustive onsite processing, our replication materials only include aggregated results and descriptive statistics. 

## Newspaper coverage data 

We caution against using the newspaper coverage data in future research because our data collection was tailored specifically to the data structure in our setting and empirical analysis (i.e. across consecutive federal election cycles). We recommend that researchers interested in using this data consult the original STAMM dataset referenced in our paper for variable collection and measurement. 